Improved brakeman s life-preserver for railroad-cars



j. WORSELY.

Safty `Car.

Patented Sept. 6. 1864.

UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE.

JOHN XVORSLEY, OF PROVIDENCE, yRHODE ISLAND.

iMPROVED BRAKEMANS LlFE-PRESERVERTFOR RAILROAD-CARS.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN WoRsLEY,-of Providence, inthe State of Rhode island, have invented a new and useful Life-Protector :for the Brakemen of Railroad Gars, and I do hereby decla-re that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of iny invention, reference being,` had to the accompauyingLdrawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a view, in perspectiye,-of the principal portions of a railroad freight-car with my life-protector applied theretoand in use. Fig. 2 represents a side view of the principal portions, of a car with the life-protector applied thereto, and Fig. 3 represents an end View of the same.` l I Railroad frei ght-cars for the transmission of merchandise, grain, and live-stock consist mainly of ai boxbody mounted upon a platform and of the running gear. 'The brakes of such 'cars are of necessity beneath the boxbody,and, as the box-body prevents the passage of the brakeman from .car to car along the platform of a train of such cars, the brake standards are generally extended up to brakewheels at or nea-r the tops of the cars, and the brakman is compelled to pass along the tops lor roofs of the bodies when passing fromcar to ear to apply the 'brakesl This passage along` -the tops of the cars is perilous at all times on account of the rocking of the ears and the rapid motiombntit becomes especially so during storms of rain and violent winds, and in winter, when the roofs of the cars are frequently coated with snow and ice, which render the footing uncertain. The peril is so great that every year many brakemen are crippled for life by being thrown from freight-4 trains, or by slipping oit', and a number are killed. The danger to the brakenien is not all that is to be feared, for it frequently happens that the train cannot be stopped-from -theloss of the brakexnen, who have been thrown from the cars atnig'ht or during storms of sleet and snow without the knowledge of the engineer, and in such eases severe accidents have occurred from the train running into other trains or running ot the track.

The object of my invention is to materially lessen, if not wholly prevent, the danger to the brakemen of railroad freight-cars; and it y. consists of the combination of the box-body of V the car-bod y.

f whichx protector 'consists .of a traverse-red and its appurtenances, (substantiallyas hereinafter `set ferth,) by whose assistance the brakeman canpassalong the roof of the car fromend to end v vfithout material danger.

The accompanying drawings represent my invention in the best form in which I have form. The braises may be connected in any of the usual modes with the runninggear, and

as such modes are well known it is not neces-l sary to describe and represent them in detail, lthebrake-standard d being arranged at one end of the box-body and being extended upward until itsupper end, which' is provided with a brake-wheeLE, is a shortdistance above l tlie roof of the car.` The dar thus represented is provided with two of my life-protectors, one

at eachside of the roof M. l Each is composed of a traverserod,m, supported and secured to the car-body at its ends by standards k 1.'. The' trayerserod must of necessity be but little above the roof of the car, because it must not be in 4the way when-the car is passing'beneath bridgesor through tunnels. It may be constructed of a bar of iron, or it may be formed of -wire`rope, or of chain, secured at the ends to standards, which connect it with Each of the traverse-rods is fitted with a traverser or ring, c, which'can traverse along it, and to each travcrsering;` a hand-ring, a., is connected p by a short chain, n, so that a brakeman passing along the roof of the car from end to end can seize the traverse-rod or the hand'ring of the traverser and-thereby connect'himself wit-h the car and holdion while he is moving along its roof. In order that he may tind the hand ring of the traverser with facility, each standard lc is forked at its upper end to form a fork upm one of the horns t', on which the hand- 'ring may be hung when the brakeman. leaves one car and passes to the roof of the ncxtonc.

In order that he maybe able to place the hand-ring in the fork'of the standard with facility and certainty' at nigh t, one of the horns,

i, is made lower than the other horn, s, of tbe standard, so that the ring passed over the a railroad car with what l, denominate a l lower willstrikethehigller, and thus be guided standards at the 4ende of 4-thetrnvei'se-rod-t prevent traversing along it; but, on the other hand,l it'is desirable that"fthe -tra'verserod should be sustained betweenits ends'whenva: v great strain' is put upon 'if cur from 'the .slipping of e brekeman." -In v order toobtain such support without 'materilelly at'teetingl-the freedom of traversing-I- make use'of standards f, which arese'curedto the'carlnody roof at'vshort distances frnm'the. dircctline'of the traverse-rod and at one or bothl ite sj 'c les,' as deemed expedient, so that whenv theytrWerserod' is deileeted out of lite .direct `lineby great strain' -it 'w'ill` come in contactw'th'one or moreof 'such intermediate sustaining-standards, and Abe 'thereby -susi tained, While, on the other hand,'th ey, .being 4situated at a. short distance from .thetra'vcrserod when it is not: deilected', will permit trv- Aersingg; upon it.

.Wha-t I claim as my inventiou,aml desire to secure by Letters Patent, is#- 1. The combination kf the before-described .brakemans life-protector with the car-body of a. railroad-can'substantially as set'fforth.

2. The end standard constructed with'a fork to hold the hand-ring of the traversing-chain ,in 'snposition where it, may be found with fucility, su'bstatiallys set'forth.-

-arde projecting nbovethe roofofithe cnr-bod y A.G. UTLEY, l STILLMAN 'WHITE.

' jpTheco'mbination of jthe'brakemans lit'e-` protector with intermediate sustaningtandbetween theends` of the' rod. substantially as s'etforth. 4 t '1u testimony whereof I have hereuntn set m'y hitud.

' JOHN WQRSLEY.-

Witnesses: 

